The meeting had finally ended.
One by one, the representatives disappeared from the holographic conference table until only the Philippine delegation remained.
Shane stayed behind.
The holographic projection of the dimensional model continued rotating in the center of the room.
68 percent.
That was how close they were.
Sixty-eight percent toward opening a controlled passage into the Kaiju's world.
But Shane's mind was no longer focused entirely on the portal.
There was something else he needed to take care of.
The children.
Mamuro and Shane Becket.
Raleigh and Mako's children.
His godchildren.
Shane had spent the last several days watching them.
They were adjusting.
At least, that was what they showed everyone.
They laughed.
They ate.
They went to school.
They played.
But Shane knew better.
Children could smile while carrying grief that adults couldn't even understand.
And that was why he had made another decision.
A decision he knew their parents probably wouldn't have approved of.
The Spartan Program
The Philippine Spartan Program had changed considerably during the previous decade.
It had originally been created as a military enhancement initiative.
But as the program matured, its purpose had expanded.
The new version wasn't simply about creating soldiers.
It was about creating people who could survive extreme environments.
The researchers had developed a physiological augmentation compound capable of improving certain human characteristics.
Strength.
Reaction speed.
Oxygen utilization.
Neuromuscular coordination.
Stress tolerance.
Bone density.
And recovery efficiency.
However, Shane had drawn one very important line.
No child would undergo the biological augmentation without proper medical and legal consent.
The children could participate in the educational and physical-training portion of the program, but the experimental enhancement itself remained restricted.
Shane had secretly enrolled the twins into the academy's preparatory program under his guardianship.
He justified the decision to himself.
The world had already shown humanity that assuming they were alone in the universe was dangerous.
Kaiju had existed.
Another civilization had existed.
And there was no guarantee that the Kaiju were the only extraterrestrial threat humanity would ever encounter.
Preparing ordinary civilians to survive catastrophes wasn't necessarily militarization.
It was survival education.
The children weren't being turned into weapons.
They were simply being taught how to protect themselves.
The program looked surprisingly normal.
Classrooms.
Physical education.
Science.
First aid.
Emergency response.
Swimming.
Teamwork.
Navigation.
Disaster preparedness.
Basic self-defense.
The children even had regular breaks.
To them, it was simply another school.
And strangely enough—
They loved it.
The Twins
Shane entered the residential building late in the afternoon.
He hadn't even reached the door before he heard footsteps.
The door opened.
"UNCLE!"
Two children immediately ran toward him.
Shane barely had time to react before both wrapped their arms around him.
He laughed.
"Hahaha!"
He crouched down and hugged them.
"Where did that come from?"
"Uncle, where were you?"
Mamuro looked up.
"You weren't here when we came back."
"I was in the meeting room."
Shane stood.
"I had to present something important."
The girl looked curious.
"What?"
Shane smiled.
"Something boring."
She frowned.
"Meetings are boring?"
"The most boring thing in existence."
Mamuro laughed.
Shane smiled.
"See? You understand."
He looked at both of them.
"So, how was your day?"
"Good!"
"What did you learn?"
"We learned about emergency response."
"And?"
Mamuro proudly raised his hand.
"I learned how to properly call emergency services."
"Very good."
"And I learned how to swim better!"
Shane looked at his sister.
"And you?"
"I learned about first aid."
Shane smiled.
"Excellent."
The two children continued talking excitedly.
But Shane noticed something.
Their smiles were genuine.
Yet there was still something behind them.
Something missing.
Their parents.
Shane gently placed his hands on their heads.
"You two."
They looked at him.
"Yes, Uncle?"
"Let's go outside."
"Where?"
"Anywhere."
The girl's eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Really."
A Day Away
Shane decided that the children needed something that wasn't training.
Something normal.
Something they could remember.
So he took them around the Philippines.
They started with food.
The children tried different Filipino dishes, some of which they had never tasted before.
Mamuro immediately found a favorite.
"This is good!"
Shane laughed.
"I knew you'd like it."
"What is it?"
"That's a secret."
"Uncle!"
"Hahaha."
Later, they walked around the city.
They visited parks.
They saw historical landmarks.
They went shopping.
And eventually—
They went swimming.
The children spent hours in the water.
Shane stayed nearby, watching them.
For a few hours, they weren't the children of two fallen heroes.
They weren't symbols.
They weren't part of the PPDC.
They weren't connected to the upcoming war.
They were simply children.
And Shane wanted them to have that.
As the sun began to set, the twins became exhausted.
Mamuro struggled to keep his eyes open.
The girl was already half asleep.
Shane sighed.
"Okay."
He crouched.
"Come on."
Mamuro climbed onto his back.
His sister reached for his arm.
Shane lifted her.
"Uncle..."
"Yeah?"
"I'm tired."
"I noticed."
She rested her head against his shoulder.
Shane carried both children back toward the vehicle.
Home
By the time they returned to the residence, both children were nearly asleep.
Shane carried them inside.
He placed them carefully in their beds.
"Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Uncle."
"Sleep well."
The girl mumbled something.
Shane leaned closer.
"What?"
"I love you."
Shane smiled.
"I love you too."
He turned off the lights.
Then quietly closed the door.
His smile disappeared.
He stood outside for several seconds.
Raleigh.
Mako.
I'll take care of them.
He had promised.
And Shane Buron wasn't the type of man who broke promises.
The Philippine PPDC Hangar
Several kilometers away, the massive hangar was still operating.
Scientists and engineers worked continuously.
The portal project had become the largest scientific undertaking in human history.
Shane entered the facility.
"How's the research?"
One of the lead scientists immediately approached.
"Sir."
He activated a holographic display.
"We've reached approximately seventy-eight percent."
Shane raised an eyebrow.
"That's faster than expected."
"Yes."
"Someone helped."
Shane looked at him.
"Who?"
The scientist smiled.
"Michelle Winston Einstein."
Shane paused.
"Einstein?"
"Yes, sir."
"She's part of the research team?"
"She contacted us."
The holographic display changed.
A mathematical model appeared.
"Her family has preserved a tremendous amount of historical scientific material."
"She's particularly interested in her ancestor's work on relativity."
Shane looked at the equations.
The scientist continued.
"Her interpretation was interesting."
"Einstein's special relativity established that the speed of light is constant in vacuum and demonstrated that measurements of time and space depend on relative motion."
"The later theory of general relativity described gravity as the curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy."
Shane nodded.
"And she applied that concept to our portal?"
"Exactly."
The scientist enlarged the model.
"Our portal isn't simply creating a hole."
"It's manipulating the geometry between two regions of spacetime."
Michelle's hypothesis was that controlling the geometry more precisely could reduce the energy normally required to establish the connection.
Shane stared at the model.
"So instead of forcing the portal open..."
"We're changing the geometry around it."
"Exactly."
Shane nodded.
"That's clever."
"It worked better than our original model."
"How much did it improve the efficiency?"
"Significantly."
Shane looked around.
"Where is she?"
The scientist pointed toward the other side of the laboratory.
"Over there."
Shane followed his gaze.
Three people stood around a holographic display.
Michelle Winston Einstein.
Newt Geiszler.
Hermann Gottlieb.
Michelle was explaining something while Newt adjusted the simulation.
Hermann was studying the equations.
Shane smiled.
"Good."
He turned toward the scientist.
"Continue supporting her research."
"Yes, sir."
"Give her whatever computational resources she needs."
"Understood."
Rajah
The scientist brought up another display.
"There's another update."
Shane looked over.
"Rajah."
The enormous Jaeger appeared on the holographic screen.
"She's fully deployable."
Shane's expression brightened.
"What did you change?"
"We upgraded almost everything."
The scientist expanded the schematic.
"Reinforced armor."
"Improved reactor efficiency."
"Additional environmental protection."
"Enhanced neural interface."
"Improved underwater propulsion."
"Expanded sensor array."
"And..."
He paused.
"Artificial intelligence."
Shane raised an eyebrow.
"AI?"
"Yes."
"How advanced?"
"Advanced enough to assist with navigation, combat prediction, sensor fusion, and emergency operation."
Shane stared at the Jaeger.
"Could it pilot Rajah?"
"In an emergency."
"Completely?"
"Technically."
The scientist hesitated.
"But it wouldn't possess the same adaptability as a human pilot."
Shane nodded.
"Good."
He understood the distinction.
An AI could process information far faster than a human.
But combat wasn't simply mathematics.
Human intuition remained difficult to reproduce.
"Keep it as an emergency system."
"Understood."
The Energy Source
Shane looked at another display.
"What about the Arctic energy signature?"
The scientist smiled.
"That's the good news."
Shane waited.
"It hasn't depleted."
Shane's eyes widened slightly.
"You're certain?"
"Yes."
"Despite our analysis?"
"Despite it."
"Then we have a renewable reference point."
"Exactly."
Shane looked toward the dimensional model.
That changed everything.
If the energy signature remained stable, they didn't have to rush the portal construction blindly.
They could study it.
Measure it.
Replicate it.
And eventually—
Control it.
Mjolnir
Shane was about to leave when another engineer approached.
"Sir."
"Yes?"
"The Spartan equipment."
Shane stopped.
"What about it?"
"We've finished the armor."
The engineer activated a holographic image.
A massive suit appeared.
It was unlike ordinary military armor.
The system was called:
MJOLNIR.
The armor incorporated a powered exoskeleton, environmental protection, neural sensors, integrated communications, kinetic energy distribution, and adaptive life-support systems.
It wasn't designed to make its wearer invincible.
Nothing could do that.
Instead, it amplified the capabilities of a trained human.
The engineer continued.
"The armor is compatible with the Spartan augmentation system."
Shane nodded.
"And?"
"We built a prototype specifically for you."
Shane looked at him.
"For me?"
"Yes, sir."
The hologram changed.
The armor became customized.
The system was designed around Shane's physical measurements, neural-interface characteristics, combat data, and Jaeger-pilot experience.
Shane stared at it.
"I see."
The engineer smiled.
"We figured you would eventually need it."
Shane gave a small laugh.
"You people know me too well."
The scientist smiled.
"Sir, after everything you've done, I think we've learned your habits."
Shane looked at the armor again.
Then toward Rajah.
Then toward the portal.
Everything was coming together.
The Jaeger.
The armor.
The portal.
The research.
The Spartan program.
Humanity's greatest scientific minds.
And somewhere beyond the dimensional boundary—
Two people were waiting.
Two people Shane had promised to bring home.
He turned away from the hologram.
"Keep working."
"Yes, sir."
"How long until the portal is ready?"
The scientist hesitated.
"If we maintain our current rate..."
He looked at the numbers.
"Approximately several days."
Shane nodded.
Several days.
That was acceptable.
But three weeks wasn't.
He looked toward the laboratory where Newt, Hermann, and Michelle continued working.
Then toward the enormous Jaeger standing silently inside the hangar.
Finally, he looked toward the residential wing where the twins were sleeping.
The world was preparing for war.
But for Shane, this wasn't simply a war.
It was a rescue mission.
It was revenge.
It was survival.
And perhaps most importantly—
It was a promise.
Shane walked toward the hangar exit.
Behind him, Rajah's systems hummed.
Above him, the dimensional model continued rotating.
And deep inside the research facility, the scientists continued working toward humanity's greatest technological achievement.
The door to another universe was almost ready to open.
And this time—
Humanity would be the one walking through it.